A powdered nod to geishas

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Times Square hangout WasabiSabi kicked off its 'geisha night' last Thursday in a bid to revive its night-scene presence. But if you're expecting formally trained Meiji-era courtesans, you'll be sadly disappointed. For the opening night bash, what passed for geishas were three non-descript Japanese girls (left) in casual kimonos with powdered faces. We're still not sure exactly what they did to entertain guests but it seemed to be enough for a few slightly inebriated patrons. Drummer-about-town Kumi Masunaga added some verve to the night by slapping some skins. Ironically, it wasn't too bizarre to have African percussion with a Japanese themed-evening. If ever there was a right time for that groovy Zhang Ziyi interpretative dance routine from Memoirs Of A Geisha, last Thursday would've been it.